Betrayal
by Poeticjustice89
Summary: When people learn that the world isn't always painted in black and white, but that there are important shades of gray that will help form a way. AU ish, FLintOC
1. Chapter 1

GENRE: Romance/Drama

AUTHOR: Poeticjustice89

DISCLAIMER: I am but a lowly writer and all the characters from the book and recognizable scenes belong to J. K. Rowling and affiliates. I own nothing nor do I have the desire to do so, or at least that's what I keep telling myself. O well, the world is a cruel place...

A/N: I▓ve extended the Hogwarts school year by two sessions, which are eighth and ninth. It serves my purpose. They're in their seventh year and most of the material is AU. I hope you enjoy. Warning: I would like you to note that all charachters engaging in certain romantic situations are all mature and of age (17-18)

1. INTRODUCTIONS

"TEN POINTS TO SLYTHERIN FOR THAT SPECTACULAR GOAL PAST THE SLYTHERIN KEEPER!"

The crowd roared to life as the stands vibrated with cheers for the Raven claw supporters. Alexis watched in silence from the corridor leading from the pitch to the locker rooms. Her eyes darted back and forth with the quaffle as it swapped hands. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of the Slytherin beaters send a bludger flying straight at the Raven claw seeker. It was a narrow miss, but the resulting force knocked her off her broom, once again cheers erupted from the Slytherin's, which were only magnified when their seeker, a platinum haired boy caught the golden snitch. "MALFOY HAS THE SNITCH, SLYTHERIN WINS!" The commentator▓s voice boomed through the stands. She stayed a little longer and watched as the players landed and congratulated each other before retreating. Halfway through the corridor someone bumped into her from behind. She turned around and was face to face with the beater who had sent the raven claw down.

"Hey aren't you..." she had barely started speaking when someone shouted "Flint!" from the opposite end of the corridor. He pushed his way past her and went off in the direction of the voice.

"Well, that was interesting" she said aloud.

"Don't mind him, manners aren't really his forte" Alexis turned around to see a tall chocolate skinned girl donned in what she deciphered - with the little knowledge she had gained about the school - to be Gryffindor quidditch robes.

"Hi, I'm Angelina" she took the offered hand.

"Alexis, I'm new here" she replied with a smile. "I thought the game was over...■ she added pointedly looking at the other girl's robes.

■Oh, yeah it is, we're practicing for an upcoming game." She nodded her head. "So could I ask you something?" she asked Angelina

"Yea sure" 

"Who was that guy?" She pointed her finger in the direction 'Flint' had gone off to.

"That was Marcus Flint. Slytherin captain and resident ass hole" They both laughed at the last part. After a few more minutes of small talk, Angelina pointed out that she needed to get going before her captain sent out a search party but promised to meet up to talk later. They then parted ways, Angelina heading towards the pitch and Alexis to the castle. She managed to retrace her steps to Dumbledore's office without much trouble.

When she got there she found her guardian and the headmaster talking outside the stone gargoyle that guarded his office. "Aah there you are dear girl. You▓re aunt and I we're just talking about you." The headmaster said as soon as he saw her. She looked at her aunt; eyebrow raised

"Alexis I▓ve informed professor Dumbledore about your, situation and he has graciously agreed to enroll you■. Alexis gave the headmaster a small smile as her aunt bid him farewell. She then pulled Alexis to the side.

⌠Lexis, I hope you like it here. It is the safest place I could think of. ⌠She could clearly hear the ill-disguised desperation in the older woman▓s voice.

⌠It might be the safest Aunt Cass, but I▓d rather be with you and Angel.■ She replied a little indignantly. 

⌠Darling, your cousin and I have things we need to do┘┘┘┘.and I promised your parents I would not let you have their life. Our life.■

Alexis pouted; she knew very well what type of ▒life▓ her aunt was taking about, but reluctantly agreed.

⌠When will I see you again?■ Her aunt smiled, sorrow in her eyes and hugged her. ⌠I have to go. Take care.■

Alexis watched until her aunt▓s retreating back had been swallowed by the darkness. In the distance, she could hear the dinner bell ringing. She hugged her cloak tight around her body clasping it with the silver rose at her neck. Pulling up the hood, she walked in the direction of the great hall.

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Students pilled into the great hall, ready for the evening meal, when they noticed someone leaning against the wall opposite its entrance. The person▓s eyes had been obscured by the hood but they could see the rest of the face illuminated by the candle light which caused the person▓s lips to glitter. They assumed it was a new female teacher; she looked a little too old to be a late first year student.

When the hall was full, Dumbledore clapped his hands, signaling for the students to be silent. He then beckoned her in. ▒First impression▓s▓ Alexis heard her mother▓s voice say, in her head. She entered the hall at a steady pace, boots clicking softly on the cold stone and stopped where the tables began.

She lifted her hands, careful not to let the sleeves slide down past her wrist▓s and slid the hood off. All eyes were on her as the hood fell to reveal brown skin glowing under the candle light, her shoulder length hair which had been pulled back in a ponytail, let loose a few rogue strands of hair which softly kissed her cheeks. She paused for a second and scanned the teacher▓s table and smiled when she saw a familiar face. She continued up to the head table, meeting Professor McGonagall advance.

⌠May I have your attention please?■ Dumbledore asked the hall of students, who were anxiously chattering amongst themselves.

⌠Thank you. Now I▓m sure you▓re all eager to acquaint your stomachs with the delicious meal■ He was met with mummers and nodding heads

⌠However, before you start I would like to introduce to you, our new student.■ He pointedly looked at Alexis.

⌠Due to certain circumstances Ms. Marcel had to transfer here from her old school and I pray that in the spirit of togetherness you may all accept her and treat her as one of us. Now if you▓ll bear with me, Professor McGonagall will sort Ms. Marcel into her house and then, we can eat.■

Alexis nodded politely in the headmaster▓s direction, before sitting on a stool transfigured by the afore mentioned professor. As soon as the hat touched her head it shouted out ⌠GRYFFINDOR!■ which Alexis found to be quite odd. Neither of her parent▓s had been in Gryffindor. Her mother had been a Raven claw and her father a Slytherin. She walked over to the Gryffindor table hesitantly and relieved when she was beckoned over by the girl she▓d met earlier. She took a seat amongst the current eight years who all introduced themselves. Unknown to her three pairs of eyes observed her keenly. A pair from the teachers table, another from the Slytherin table and yet another from the Gryffindor table.

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The weekend was spent roaming the grounds and acquainting herself with areas her aunt and parents had told her stories about. Outside, she walked towards the black lake and sat down on a dry patch of shore. She closed her eyes and let the wind blow through her hair, enjoying its moistness as it caressed her face. Alexis felt more than heard someone sit down next to her. A few minutes of companionable silence went by before she opened her eyes and looked to her side. It was one of the twins.

⌠Hi George, what▓s up?■ She asked leaning on her elbow and looking up at him.

He took his time before turning to face her, a somber expression on his face ⌠Girl friend blues■ he said.

The one thing Alexis had noticed when she had been initiated into the Gryffindor lifestyle was the twisted love triangles that existed between the house mates. She thought it was all crazy, Hogwarts was a huge school and if they could get over their inter house phobias then a semblance of normalcy might be restored in the world. But then again, that was just her.

⌠Oh, who▓s the girl?■ Alexis asked concern lacing her voice. The twins reminded her of her cousin Angel, only they came in two.

⌠Hermione■ He replied plucking at a piece of grass near his hand.

⌠You mean your brothers best friend, the one dating Potter?■ Alexis said, not knowing she▓d just opened up a Pandora▓s Box.

⌠Who told you that?■ George asked looking at her strangely.

⌠Grape vine, plus it▓s kind of hard to block out conversations about things you don▓t want to know when you sleep between Hogwarts most successful 411▓s. According to my sources, they▓ve been dating for close to a week now.■ She looked over at George who was studying the black lake like it was a Van Gogh.

⌠We just broke up yesterday; or rather she dumped me yesterday.■

⌠Oh. I▓m sorry, I shouldn▓t have said anything■

⌠Do you want to be alone?■ Alexis added after a few minutes of silence. She was answered with a nod. Before she left she added ⌠Anytime you want to talk┘┘┘.■ He nodded.

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Alexis walked back to the castle thinking of what just passed. ▒Bloody people and their sordid love affair▓s▓. Alexis▓ first impression on meeting the golden trio had been ▒Is this a joke?▓ She▓d heard of Harry Potter and his golden posy that ran around wreaking havoc and escaping death. She had thought they would be a little more impressive.

She stopped as soon as she reached her destination and knocked twice on the door, she was answered with a muffled ⌠come in■.

Alexis entered the room and as soon as she saw the person she was looking for, she rushed up to him and engulfed him in a bone crushing hug, tears in her eyes. He returned the hug and held her as she cried a little. The last time she had seen him was at her mother▓s funeral two months ago, then she had been whisked away by her aunt before she could even register what was happening.

She withdrew from the embrace after a few more minutes and looked up into the other▓s eyes.

⌠Missed me?■ He said with a smirk. She laughed and hit him lightly on the arm. 


	2. Chapter 2

GENRE: Romance/Drama

AUTHOR: Poeticjustice89

DISCLAIMER: I am a lowly writer and all the characters from the book and recognizable scenes belong to J. K. Rowling

A/N: I've extended the Hogwarts school year by two sessions, which are eighth and ninth. It serves my purpose. It's set after book five and most of the material is AU. I hope you enjoy.

Warning: I would like you to note that all characters engaging in certain romantic situations are all mature and of age (17-18)

2. LETTERS AND CONFRONTATIONS

On Monday morning Alexis ate her breakfast in silence; she looked around her at her new friends and felt at home. That is, a home away from home. She looked at George and felt a pang of pain at the heart ache he was going through. She knew exactly how it felt. She grabbed his hand under the table and gave it a little squeeze.

"Have you talked to her yet?" She asked.

"Not yet. I don't think I can."

"I know what you're going through. I've been there, you need closure."

He just looked at her with tired eyes, she was right. "I'll try"

Alexis went through her schedule for the day, last week she hadn't attended most of the classes so it was still all new to her. She had potions first; double lessons followed by Herbology and Transfiguration and then in the afternoon triple Defence against the dark arts.

Just as she was putting away her timetable a fluttering of wings was heard over head as owl's delivered mail packages to their respective owner's. She saw Don, her black eagle owl swoop down to her and drop a letter in her lap. After turning it over and recognizing the handwriting, she shoved it into her robe pocket and hurried off to her first class.

As she exited the great hall she bumped into none other than the infamous Marcus Flint.

"Watch where you're going woman" a gruff voice said to her from behind.

"Excuse me, but YOU bumped into ME, not the other way round thank you very much." After saying that Alexis turned around to face the person she had been talking to.

"Oh…….It's you. I should have known. Your gorilla instincts on the flux again?"

Marcus sneered, his upper lip ugly smirk. "Thirty points from Gryffindor". He said, deliberately slow, revelling in the various stages of anger marring her face.

"You damn bastard. You fucking bumped into ME!" Twirling his wand lazily in his hand, he looked her up and down, his smirk widening. "Are you insinuating that I 'bumped' into your person intentionally, not that I would lower myself to touching a filthy little Gryffindor like you?"

Alexis shot him a look and walked away, angel had told her about these types. The people that truly believed in their heart of hearts, that they were infinitely better than those around them. She thought of risking a backwards glance at him, but thought better of it. Marcus watched her retreating back, various hexes he could throw at her running through his mind. Face fixed in scowl, he aimed but didn't quite get the opportunity to fire off a hex as his head of house walked up to him. Promising himself he'd deal with her later he schooled his features to arrogant confidence as he talked to the professor.

With the power that came with being an upper year prefect and a rumoured to be death eater came the status Marcus Flint currently held. Same status that got him things he wanted and intimidated people around him into submission. So when Alexis talked to him so impudently, he was for lack of better words 'shit pissed'. Most people usually apologized and tripped over themselves trying to right the 'wrong' they had done to him. He was sure she'd been around long enough to learn how things worked around here, if not he was sure he had enough time to start her on a short refresher course.

Alexis walked into the potions class and advanced towards her right, which unknown to her was the Slytherin half of the room; all other houses occupied the other half of the room. Unaware or mostly ignoring the side looks and sneer's being directed her way, she dropped her bag next to her seat and sat on the table cross-legged and read the letter she'd received from her cousin that morning. She was so engrossed in it she did not notice when someone took up the seat next to hers or when professor Snape entered the room; robes billowing dark cloud over his head and all. He walked up to his desk, sifted through a few papers before turning around. Right before he did however a pair of strong arms wrapped around Alexis' waist, painfully yanking her off the table and onto the bench.

Ignoring the stabbing pain emanating from certain places, she whisked her head around narrowly avoiding whip-lash. Before she could scream in indignation at the owner of the hazel brown eyes she was staring into, Snape spoke. "I'm sure by now you're incompetent brains have developed in such a way as to process, compile and carry out orders without much assistance." He paused, obsidian eyes scanning the room from behind a dark fringe. "I'll take your silence as acknowledgement, chapter 32 'obliviation potion' ingredients, on the board." He turned and retreated into his private lab to do only Merlin knows what.

"What the hell did you do that for?!" Marcus found himself staring into stormy brown eyes. "I just saved you from detention in your first potions class. There is a certain way we do things here, not that I expect an ingrate like you to know that, but you WILL learn. I will personally make sure that you do." He ended his little tirade with one of the coldest smile's Alexis had seen, in months. Resisting the urge to shudder, she looked away, instead quickly retrieving ingredients for the potion they were making. She positioned herself as far away from the boy as she could without tipping onto the floor, before starting to brew.

The rest of the class went by fine that was until Jade; a Ravenclaw sitting adjacent to Alexis decided to paint the class with the contents of her cauldron. The small explosion sent Alexis flying back into Flint, who ducked behind her, narrowly missing the blob of 'goop' flying through the air. Still behind her, he stood and turned around to stare at the spot on the wall the 'goop' had just eaten through, "Bloody fucking mudblood" he said somewhere above her ear. Alexis lowered her arms from their defensive positions and stupidly stared at them before realizing whatever had hit her was eating through her robes, fast. She let out a small scream and proceeded to discard her robe, sweater and shirt which were smoking in the lower arm region. Her reaction had been a little too late though, as the potion had already reached her skin and was quickly working on it like a flesh eating bacteria, on crack. She jumped up and down in panic waving her arms, which, for all intensive purposes, felt like they were really on fire. The 'goop' the Ravenclaw had been brewing was a mixture of fast acting acids added to enzymes; hence the explosion.

"What in Merlin's name is going on here? I thought I told you to brew the potion, not decimate half my laboratory-" The silky thunderous voice of the irate potions master floated towards them and was soon followed by a very annoyed Professor. He walked to the centre of the crowd to see what all the commotion was about, when he saw his charge jumping up and down waving her arms, the upper part of her body clad only in a white camisole. He progressed to her side and grabbed her arms to steady her; he examined them briefly before cursing under his breath. Picking up a vial of beet sap off a nearby table he emptied its contents onto the scalds. The small crowd watched in morbid fascination as the burns sizzled and seemed to stop for a while, as Alexis tried to wiggle out of the potion master's grip. "It won't stop it, but it will neutralize the acid and slow it down, now stand still." He spoke looking directly into Alexis' eyes forcing her to comply. It took all her will power to stand still but she focused on Snape's barely audible chanting instead of the pain.

Marcus, who was still standing behind her, had his attention elsewhere though. He was staring intently at the three fist sized tattoos exposed on her back. On her left shoulder blade was a docile looking arctic fox, on its right counter part: a sleeping panther and right in the middle, just below her neck a black raven perched on a floating branch. Not that he'd never seen magical tattoos before, there was just something different about these, the raven in particular, he was startled out of his gaze when it stretched its wings and flew up and around her neck. Snape stopped chanting as soon as he saw the black bird wrap its wings around Alexis' throat and tuck its head under them. Satisfied with the outcome he unclasped his own robe and wrapped it around the shivering witch. This action produced more than a few odd glances from his students; looked like the rumour mill had just got its weekly batch of produce. "Flint, escort Ms. Marcel to the infirmary. Ms. Foster detention, tonight and the rest of the week with filch. The rest of you, vial and label your potions then leave them on my table." With that he walked to his private lab, retrieved a few things then walked out of the potions room without another word.

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Somewhere between the dungeons and the infirmary, lurked the golden trio. Ron was leaning against a wall one foot up and against it, his hand buried in his robe pocket; the remaining two thirds sat in an alcove opposite him talking. "Aha! Found it." Harry and Hermione looked up at the friend questioningly. "You know. The letter I was telling you about, Lavender..." after a few seconds of silence and blank looks he gave up. "You two barely listen to a word I say." Harry answered with a shrug and Hermione an apologetic smile. Ron just shook his head and smelt the parchment. "So what should we do this weekend?" Hermione asked as she cuddled closer to Harry, whose mind happened to be elsewhere. "Do you know that new girl, Alex or Lexis or something like that," Hermione nodded. "There's something off about her, I don't know I just get really weird vibes off her." He added the last part at his friends' questioning gaze. "Not really" Hermione just shrugged before kissing him chastely on the lips.

Right then Alexis and Marcus walked down the hall, when she stumbled on a crack and grabbed his cloak to steady herself. They looked up at the noise. "Aren't you supposed to be in class?" Marcus asked gruffly, looking pointedly at the golden trio. "Aren't you?" Harry shot back taking a defensive stand in front of his friends, prompting a snort from Marcus. The two groups walked towards each other both spoiling for a fight. Tired of playing games and faint from the pain Alexis interjected before things got out of hand. "Look we just want to get to the infirmary alright" She made to push past Harry who grabbed her by the arm causing her to cry out in pain. Marcus was about to draw his wand as were the other two, when Snape walked around the corner, only to see Potter manhandling a student, a girl at that. The boy knew no shame.

"Blimey, I don't think I've ever seen the greasy git without his robes." Ron's wand went limp in his hand as he stared at the angry potions master walking in their general direction. Hermione put her wand back discreetly and stood innocently at Harry's side, while Harry just stood there, his hand still gripping Alexis and staring into her face. "Mr. Potter, would you be so kind as to explain why you're man handling one of my student's?" Professor Snape asked in his usual arrogantly cold tone. "Sir?" Harry asked innocently, letting his grip slacken enough for Alexis to pull her now throbbing arm out of. "50 Points from Gryffindor, for loitering and assaulting a fellow student. Now get out of my way." He passed in between the fuming teenagers, followed by his two students. As soon as they were out of ear shot Hermione let out an indignant huff, it was their free period and they had every right to loiter or whatever else as long as they were not breaking any rules.

"See, I told you something was up." Harry stared pointedly in the direction the three had disappeared in. "Snape and Flint, plus did you see her reaction when I grabbed her arm?" Ron stared at him, "I don't get it mate." Hermione looked at her other friend and rolled her eyes. "You don't get much of anything do you Ron? Harry grabbed her upper left arm, you know, where the dark mark usually is..." She rolled her eyes again at Ron's scandalized look. "Plus we all know ol' greasy bum's a death eater and Flint might as well be. Look, all I'm saying, is we have to keep an eye on her ok? We can't have snake's in Gryffindor" They both nodded.


	3. Chapter 3

AUTHOR: Poeticjustice89

DISCLAIMER: I am a lowly writer and all the characters from the book and recognizable scenes belong to J. K. Rowling

A/N: I would like you to note that all characters engaging in certain romantic situations are all mature and of age (17-18)

3. OPEN HOSTILITY

Alexis lay silently in the hospital room, watching as the moon light floating in from the window above her bed, played with the shadows on the opposite end of the hall, the pain in her arms having subsided to a dull throb. Bringing them up to her face; she examined the silk gauze wrapping on her limbs, before sighing and dropping them back on her bed. She shifted trying to find sleep again but after a while resigned herself to her sleepless state. Thirty minutes later and two stanzas into a boring sleep inducing Russian ode her father had taught her, she heard faint footsteps approaching her bed. Opting to feign sleep in case it was Madame Pomfrey, she closed her eyes. Only when the footsteps stopped by her bed and she heard quiet laughter coming from somewhere above her did she open them again, a look of clear indignation on her face. The look quickly dissolved though as she saw who it was.

"Hey George, what are you doing here?" She asked smiling up at him.

Flashing her cheeky grin, he ran a hand through flame red locks, before replying. "Missed you at dinner, just came to check if everything was alright. I mean you did leave half naked, with two blokes I wouldn't exactly call genuine." She smacked him on the arm, calmly reminding him that Snape was in fact a Professor and was supposed to look out for his students well being at all times.

"Still doesn't mean I have to trust him." He replied, perching himself lightly on the edge of the bed. They talked for a while about what she'd missed at dinner, which included; a detailed description of the fantastic food, one of the bloody baron's adventurous tales and Oliver Wood's fight with his over charismatic jell-o. As the great clock just around a corner from the infirmary chimed, Alexis prodded George awake for the third time.

"Hey sleepy head, I think you should really go back now. Before you fall asleep completely and I have to explain to the Madame why I have a boy in bed with me." He chuckled lightly at that.

"Alright. But I'll be back tomorrow morning." He rose up and kissed her gently on the cheek before walking off. Smiling lightly at the plain show of affection, she went back to reciting the Russian ode.

Morning could not have come quicker Alexis thought as she listened to the medi-witch detail how she was supposed to change her bandages. Accepting the vial of cream handed to her by the old lady, she voiced her gratitude before hurrying up to her dorm, breathing a sigh of relief when she was finally surrounded by the now familiar reds and gold of her common room.

Harry looked up from the armchair he was currently occupying as her heard the portrait swing open. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at the entree, remembering the dream he'd had last night. It was one of the now so regular Voldemort related visions/dreams he got ever so often. The only difference with this one was he vaguely recognized one of the death eaters. They had been raiding a muggle village in Romania, when one of the people they were taking prisoner knocked off one of the white masks, revealing a woman, with beautiful flowing midnight black hair and stunning brown eyes. He remembered how he'd stared into her eyes and felt like he was falling, of course he wasn't physically there, but the effect was still the same if not worse. He shuddered visibly as he came out of his memory. He got up as soon as Ron descended from the boy's dormitory and walked out the portrait hole with him. On the silent trek to the great hall, he tried to recall something important about the dream that he was forgetting. At the door to the hall Ron stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey Harry, where's Hermione?" He just waved his hand behind him vaguely muttering, "She's coming down later, said she had some work to finish."

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Hermione walked into the upper girl's bathroom at the end of the hall outside her dorm room. Walking to a mirror she pretended to fix her hair and face as she waited for the occupant behind the steaming shower stall to come out. As soon as she did, Hermione picked up the other girl's shampoo bottle which she'd just placed on the counter and read out the name.

"Midnight sleek. Is this stuff any good?" she asked, turning fully to the girl beside her who was currently drying her hair. In answer the girl removed the towel, to show midnight black hair, which tumbled onto her shoulders.

"What do you think?" The girl answered. Hermione smiled before extending her hand in greeting. "I don't think we've met. My name's Hermione."

"I've heard a lot about you actually, I'm Alexis." She wiped her damp hand on her towel before shaking the one offered her. "I hope what you've heard is all good." Hermione said smiling. Alexis 'hmm'd' and smiled before returning to her grooming.

"So tell me Alexis, where are you from?" She leaned against one of the sinks and examined her house mate. "Everywhere." Alexis replied looking at Hermione, who had a confused look on her face and laughing. "I'm sorry. My grandmother says I'm an old spirit," She fanned her arms out demonstratively, "made up of dozens of spirits from all over the place. But my father was Romanian and my mother was from the Caribbean."

"Was?" Alexis looked away, her mood sombre now. "They died a few months ago." She replied. Trying to get more information out of the girl, Hermione pressed. "How did they…um…pass?" Subtlety wasn't exactly one of her strong points. "They were murdered." Hermione's eyes went wide and Alexis picked up her things.

"If you'll excuse me, I have to go get ready. You can keep that if you like." She said, signalling at the forgotten shampoo bottle in Hermione's hands, "I have plenty more." The other girl nodded her thanks and blurted out a "sorry" before Alexis was fully out of the door. She was answered by a silent nod, followed by the soft click of the door. So now she stood alone in a bathroom full of steam, trying to compile the practically non existent information she'd gathered. Sighing, she also walked out.

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Alexis walked into her third class of the day; double DADA, the last before lunch and found a seat in the politically correct section of the class, thankfully. Unfortunately, the seat she occupied was next to the Slytherin occupied side and as it was her luck so far, once again she found herself seated next to Marcus flint. He ignored her for the first half of the class but as the teacher suggested they carry out a duelling session, to put into practice what was learned during the past week, she could feel his eyes bore into her side.

"I would like you to pair up, before we begin." The professor said before banishing the desks to the side of the class. Alexis felt a vice like grip on her wrist, as she started to move away. Five minutes later would find the class successfully paired off.

"Good, now I'd like you to start of with simple disarming spells and work your way up. Remember, we are here to learn, not maim." She put emphasis on the word and paused, looking in between the Gryffindor's and Slytherin's. She saw fit to add as an after thought, "Once you enter my classroom, I expect petty rivalries to be checked at the door. Got it?" They nodded.

"Begin!" Professor Brown lifted her wand in the air and brought it down dramatically and then scurried off to a safer section to watch.

Majority of the class paired up with their own house mates, with the exception of the Ravenclaws and a few Gryffindor's who wanted to get the best out of the session. Those select few brave enough, took on the Slytherin elite who seemed to be spoiling for a fight. Those were the pairs the professor was worried about.

In five minutes, pairs lined up, bows were taken, wands raised and the first hex shot. The first twenty minutes of the second period were relatively calm, only standard, legal spells being used. Professor Brown was enamoured by the progress of a particular pair and walked towards them smiling. She stopped a few ways away, near enough to keenly observe, but far enough to not get in the way. The girl, she noted was particularly adept at evading the curse's being thrown at her. Angelina jumped out of the way of a body binding hex thrown at her, having long since graduated from disarming to attacking; she shot an incendio to her sparing partner. George barely escaped it, his red hair singing at the tips and twisted around to send a jiggle-jinx hex to his friend, when they were startled by a blasting sound from the other end of the room.

Alexis got up from her position on the floor, where Marcus had blasted her and dusted off her skirt. She threw off her outer robe before assuring Miss. Brown and her friends that she was alright. Walking back to her duelling position with a slight limp, she looked Flint; who was watching her with satisfaction and amusement in his eyes, dead on. "Had enough yet?" he asked with a smirk? "Hardly" She replied in a whisper as the whites in her eyes darkened to black cesspools and shot off a ray of light blue light that hit its target between the eyes. It was hardly a legal move in a fair duel, but then again they'd established earlier on that it was anything but fair. She muttered a few more incantations under her breath, keeping her wand steady to allow the blue stream to flow fluently before twisting abruptly at a three sixty degree angle; creating a circle of light blue around her and with a powerful flick of her wrist sent a whip of red that caught Marcus in the chest.

The class was disrupted once again by an agonized shout from one of the corners. Marcus fell to his knees panting as pain twisted in his gut, blinding his vision for a while. It took a second for the pain caused by the impact of his knees on the floor to subside, leaving a disorienting amount of unrecognizable sorrow in his chest. He fought back the urge to sob with all the strength he could muster; he hadn't felt this bad since his mother's funeral, years ago. It took him a few minutes to recognize his surroundings and realise he'd been cursed; and took a few more to recognize the curse and acknowledge the blood flowing out of his nose. He countered it off and stood, swiping the back of his hand ruggedly across his face. Alexis could sense his anger, not sure where all the hate was coming from. It was after all, only a duel.

Marcus watched the girl from where he stood. All the while wondering where the bloody hell she'd learnt that curse and how she could muster it, let alone sustain it, while he himself had yet to reach the stage of sustaining it. His father, in his rare show of 'kindness' had taken it upon himself to spend some quality time with his only son during the summer holiday and teach him a thing or to about 'real magic'. The spell was decidedly a dark one, passed down generations in pureblood families and required a lot of power to cast. His first few attempts had been failures much to his and his father's disappointment, considering he was powerful and well versed in the ways of old magic (that were mostly considered dark), he was shocked and more than a little peeved at the cretin's ability to master it.

Alexis watched the boy in front of her, marvelling at the play of emotion on his face. Not for the first time in her life did she thank the fates for her cousin angel, who had come up with a charm that could bind her magic, without incapacitating her. She grappled with various emotions, mostly fear and anger at herself and him as she watched the crimson liquid make its way down his face. The small flicker of compassion within her won out as she watched him stumble back into position. Cautiously, she dropped her wand to her side and approached the seemingly defeated Slytherin. Flint however, had not been placed in Slytherin for naught. His stumble, although not quite deliberate had the desired effect, he watched through hooded eyes as the girl approached him, carefully timing his attack. When she was three feet away from him, he lifted his head and looked into her eyes before bringing up his wand up with lightening agility and casting a skilful legillimens.

Careful to retain eye contact her delved into her mind. Knowing full well he was tasked for time, Marcus whipped through her memories, his training under his father helping him resist the sweet temptation to pause and delve into the more questionable ones. There would be plenty of time for that later. Five minutes had hardly gone by when Alexis threw him out unceremoniously, but not before he caught a glimpse of her most damning memory yet. No sooner had she thrown him out that professor Brown called the lesson to an end as she advanced towards them.

"Mr. Flint, are you in pain?" the professor questioned as she lightly turned his head from side to side. He shook his head, releasing it from her grip and mouthed a silent 'no' his gaze still steadily trained on the girl in front of him. Alexis gently rebuked the matronly Lady's concern as she assured her she was fine and averted her eyes from Flint's.

"Good. I expect to see you here an hour after dinner, for detention with me, dismissed." The professor turned her back on them and walked to her office on the opposite side of the room.

On the walk to the great hall she kept stealing glances at Marcus, who was walking a few steps in front of her. When he'd cast the legillimens on her, he left himself open to her as well, unintentionally of course. It was an after effect to the spell she cast on him, it had made it possible for her to access certain emotions of his and fuel them even more with some of her own. The channel she had used to do so hadn't been fully closed off when he hexed her, allowing for her to scan his mind and some of his memories in the process.

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The golden trio could be found huddling in front of the fire place in the Gryffindor common room, under the guise of studying. Not that anyone cared of course. The only one in the group who could be described as doing anything remotely 'studious' was Hermione. She was buried in an armchair with Harry, completely lost to the world in a sultry regency romance novel. She was abducted from her world of rich Romanesque looking beau's and damsel's whose main aim in life was to be distressed by a shout from Harry.

"Holy shit!" Harry looked at his friends, his eyes wide and repeated the exclamation a little quieter. "You remember the dream I told you about this morning?" Ron and Hermione nodded. "What about it mate?" asked Ron, who was sitting on the floor opposite Hermione, trying futilely to compose a letter d'amour to Lavender. "I remember where I'd seen her before. God I can't believe I hadn't seen this till now." He buried his hands in his hair and pulled at it. "I've got to tell Dumbledore." He untangled himself from his girlfriend and practically ran out of the common room. "What the fuck?" Ron exclaimed, staring in the direction his best friend had just ran off to, before following him, Hermione in tow.

AN: Hmmm, I'm starting to not like this. But then again one is one's own harshest critic. Constructive criticism very welcome.


	4. Chapter 4

AUTHOR: Poeticjustice89

DISCLAIMER: I am a lowly writer and all the characters from the book and recognizable scenes belong to J. K. Rowling

A/N: I would like you to note that all characters engaging in certain romantic situations are all mature and of age (17-18)

(Ps. Michael Angel. I call him Michael; she calls him Angel, term of endearment and whatnot.)

Warning: There are a few lemons :) in here.

4. MEMORIES

"_Hey, Lex!" _

_Alexis spun around, the key she was using jangling forgotten in the unopened door. "Danny!" She ran down the steps and jumped into her boyfriends arms. She laughed joyfully as he swung her around before crushing her to himself again. The couple remained in a fierce embrace before a cough from somewhere above pulled them apart._

_Alexis smiled up at her Cousin Michael's head, which had popped out of the kitchen window. "If you two don't mind. I do believe the reunion would be much sweeter inside." She grabbed her boyfriends hand and pulled him into the old Victorian house that stood on the edge of three houses on the hill._

_Danny, or rather Daniel Martin was a recent graduate of Durmstrang and apprentice of one of the most accomplished herbologists in Europe who as coincidence would have it taught, at the school part time. He'd been going out with Alexis for two years now, their relationship consisting mainly of numerous letters and brief physical meetings which were few and far between. The last time she'd seen him was the winter of last year, when she'd spent a week at her Aunt's old family home in the Romanian mountains. The week of course had been spent entirely in his company which had made the parting more difficult, but bittersweet in a way. Because that was when he'd told her he loved her, words she'd been waiting to hear since the summer of the same year when, she'd finally understood what he meant to her. Now he stood in her family home's kitchen, telling her he was there for good now. He'd just been offered a job as an analyst advisor to Alchemy Potions limited; a prestigious potions producing company that side of the channel. Alexis hugged her boyfriend for the fifth time in the past ten minutes, feeling as if her heart would burst from emotion._

"_Congratulations mate." Michael said giving him a pat on the back, "I'm sure you'll love it here." He finished before walking out of the kitchen, a cup of 'only the finest' Mexican coffee; according to Michael in his hand._

"_I'm so happy for you." Alexis said, pulling out of his embrace. He held her at arms length and searched her eyes, before leaning forward and capturing her lips in his in a tender kiss. Pulling away before she could respond he rested his head on hers and looked into her eyes again. "Have I ever told you how much I love you?" he whispered, his breath ghosting over her lips. She smiled cheekily and shook her head, "Not that I remember." A deep throaty laugh resounded from deep within his chest before he swept her up into his arms, "Well, I love you this much." he said depositing her on the black pearl counter top. He captured her lips once again in a sweet kiss while she twined her legs around him. They remained like that for a while before his kisses became more passionate and needy and his hand started moving up Alexis' leg and under her skirt. She pulled away first breathing heavily and looked into sea green eyes, that had turned black. Jumping of the counter top, she weaved her fingers through his and led him into the hallway to a portrait of a hunter in the setting sun. Placing her hand on the sun she pressed lightly, the painting dissolving, to give way to a dark staircase. She looked back at Danny, before nodding and proceeding up the stairs. After twenty steps or so they came out into a dark bedroom, painted forest green with a matching carpet and drapes; which were drawn and a four poster mahogany bed pushed up against a wall._

_Alexis let go of his hand then and walked to the middle of the room. "My bedroom." She said nervously, it was the first time she'd brought a boy in there (well apart from Angel, but that was different). Danny smiled, understandingly and walked to her. "We don't have to do this." He said his voice husky and serving the purpose of cementing her decision. "I want to." Pushing off him again, she walked towards the bed, shedding a piece of clothing with each step. When she reached the bed, the only piece of clothing she was wearing was a pair of red lace panties. She climbed onto the bed and lay in the centre and looked at him. He was still standing in the middle of the room, staring at her. She was beginning to think something was wrong, when he suddenly started, "You're beautiful." He said, walking towards her, leaving the same trail of clothing. When he was down to his boxer's she could see his obvious desire for her and began to relax._

_He climbed on top of her supporting himself on his elbows and placed a trace of kisses from her jaw to the dip in her neck, bringing his head back up to kiss her lips, their tongues playing enticingly. He felt as if liquid fire was running through his veins at that moment, he wanted her so bad, but didn't want to rush it. He wanted her to enjoy him as much as he was her. Mapping her neck with his tongue, he moved down her chest, placing kisses and tiny bites as he went, when his mouth reached its destination; a hard dark nipple, he lapped it with his tongue before enveloping it with his mouth. Alexis gasped and arched her back off the bed in pleasure, her eyes sliding shut as Danny grated his teeth against the tender flesh and bit gently. He paid the same attention to her other nipple before dipping lower and licking his way to her panty line. She could tell how exited he was as he rubbed against her thigh. She grabbed his head in her hands and brought him up to her face, where she delved into his mouth again, this time battling more dominantly with his tongue, one of his hands meanwhile moved down from her breast and under the red lace and circled his fingers around eliciting moans of pleasure from her. The rubbing against her thigh increased as Danny moaned into her mouth. Coming up for breath, he laid his cheek against hers before whispering huskily into her ear. "I need to be in you, so bad" She answered by bucking up her hips, leaving enough space for him to discard of her underwear. Removing his as well, he positioned himself, before looking into her eyes. She nodded her consent; wanting to feel him in her. He entered her slowly, stopping when he saw her wince in pain, before going all in when she smiled up at him. He groaned into her neck when he felt her completely around him. He took a second to compose himself before he thrust into her, her moans pushing him towards the edge he was tottering over. He buried his head into her neck, all thought escaping from his head. He knew as the familiar heat coiled in his abdomen that he wasn't going to last much longer. He thrust into her one more time, before he felt her walls convulse against his manhood and she gasped out his name. He followed her into sweet oblivion as came in her._

_Alexis traced her lovers face with the tips of her fingers as she watched him sleep. She'd never imagined making love to him would have been so amazing. She traced his eyebrows and then the dip below his eyes before tracing down his nose and mapping his lips. Her fingers lingered a little longer on his lips, before being replaced with her mouth, in a chaste sweet kiss. She could still taste him and feel the faint ghost of him in her. Moaning in content, she curled up against him and followed him into sleep. _

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As the vice like clutches of sleep imprisoned the consciousness of the students at Hogwart's, two lonely souls wandered. One, in the confines of his mind; in a memory of a past, the other in his chambers; through fleeting images of the future and a swiftly fading present. Asleep or awake, fear governed their every thought, binding them all under the ancient walls of magic, under a calm unfeeling night sky.

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Professor Dumbledore stood in his office, pacing the few steps that separated littered walls, in his mind pacing through information gathered over the past few days. He shook his head tiredly, before walking back to his desk, where his pensive sat, inconspicuously among his collectibles. Folding his tired frame into his chair, he tapped his dipped his wand into the silvery substance, brining to surface a memory placed in there not too long ago. With another sigh, he lowered his head inside.

Cassandra Dimitrov had approached him a few months prior with a favour to ask. These were extremely turbulent times and one could never know whom to trust. She had a niece, a recently orphaned niece who needed guidance, that's what she called it, and indeed she did. See, though Cassandra never did mention why her niece would need guidance, Dumbledore already knew. He knew who, this niece was, knew who exactly her parents were and unfortunately the circumstance of their death and he also knew, only too well, what Cassandra was. When she came to him, he had believed her to be a broken woman, having all that she loved and held dear to herself taken away so brutally and prematurely, and that was when he made a mistake most war weary generals were wont to make in such situations, he recruited her.

In exchange for taking her ward under his wing and keeping her safe, she was to spy for them. Oaths were taken and new lies conceived; for Dumbledore it was one step closer to victory, to Cassandra, it was a deal with the devil. A lesser evil, one could say, as compared to the alternative. In one night, she had been ripped of her family, her beloved brother and sister in law, murdered in cold blood, by a hand she had made her life's mission to find, and her heart was taken; bled dry by the murder of her soul mate, her dear Estefan. She was left with pieces and not very much tape, her life ended before it even began.

One thing she was sure of, that she would never forgive herself. She was supposed to be there that night; she was so convinced that she could have prevented the killing, assured in the youth of her mind that had she been there it would have been fine. But the fates themselves knew, as they looked upon her with the eyes of a mother unable to spare her child, that her presence there would have borne no fruit. Had she and Estefan not argued earlier that morning, had she not stormed out of the house in favour of walking to town, she too would be dead, and then, there would be no one to look after the unfortunate survivor's; her darling Michael and Alexis. Then the tale would truly have been tragic as they lost themselves to the vices of hate and dark magic. So as Cassandra signed her blood in oath to the headmaster of Hogwarts, she sold her soul and forfeited her life, but in doing so saved her two beautiful angels; her redeeming grace.

Thought ran rampant in Dumbledore's mind as he walked through memories of Harry's dream. He may have been wrong in exploiting Madame Dimitrov, but as he looked around him at the meaningless carnage, he drew resolution from it, justifying his actions by the number of dead bodies littering the ground. In his world, the end justified the means and that was the only way to purge the world of sin such as Voldemort.

He knew of Cassandra's family, the ancient line of Lord Marcel. They were the third most powerful family in the frigid mountainous regions of Romania; pure blood in anything and everything the followed ancient doctrine religiously. And as such he drew more justification to exploit the young woman; single handedly making her pay for the sins of her forefathers. With a few well placed bags of silver, he found that the Marcel family had generations of Empaths, handed down through the intermarriage of the family's black sheep to a magical nymph. The gene had been passed down generations, through the females, often skipping a generation, and Cassandra had been one of the 'lucky' few of her generation to be bestowed upon such a 'gift'.

Dumbledore's plan for her was quite simple; he would use the empathy to retrieve information from influential pureblood families In the region of Voldemort's activities. It had been going so well in fact, he was thinking of unofficially introducing her to the order and elevating her from eaves dropper to spy status. Of course that was until this new piece of information landed on his lap. He turned and watched for the second time that night as the death eater's mask in Harry dream fell off. Revealing the beautiful face of none other that Cassandra Dimitrov, in moonlit glory.

Disappointment and ire rose up within the old wizard as he realized he'd been tricked. The woman was not supposed to be a death eater, she had lied to him; a lie by omission perhaps but for all intensive purposes, still a lie.


	5. Chapter 5

AUTHOR: Poeticjustice89

DISCLAIMER: I am a lowly writer and all the characters from the book and recognizable scenes belong to J. K. Rowling

A/N: I would like you to note that all characters engaging in certain romantic situations are all mature and of age (17-18)

(Ps. Michael Angel. I call him Michael; she calls him Angel, term of endearment and whatnot.)

5. BREAK-DOWN

_**(Earlier that night) **_

Alexis watched the great hall, as they ate and talked before looking down at her own half empty plate and frowning. Something wasn't right, she couldn't put her finger on it, but there was a disconcerting feeling in her gut, trying to pull her someplace else. Maybe it had something to do with the spell, she thought, shrugging it off.

"Are you feeling alright?" George asked Alexis as the walked up to the Gryffindor tower after dinner. "Hmm, Oh yeah I'm fine, just a little tired I think." The red head frowned at her, "Well after that duel with Flint you should be. To tell you the truth I'm surprised your not in the infirmary." He shot her a smirk as she swatted his arm. "He's lucky I didn't send his punk ass to St. Mungo's." Alexis replied with a laugh. The frown returned to George's face. "Where'd you learn that spell anyway? I've never heard of it before." Alexis' heart skipped a beat, she hadn't thought about that part, all she'd wanted to do at that moment was to cause Marcus as much pain and humiliation as she could. Fishing around frantically in her head for a plausible answer, she blurted out, "My cousin. Yeah, he works in the spell research department in a private hospital." Glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, she breathed a sigh of relief when he nodded his head. "What is it with Flint and you anyway, first was potions, then DADA and he was staring at you all through dinner. Don't tell me the big bad Slytherin's got puppy love syndrome." George chuckled out loud, drawing the attention of the people around them. "You've got to be able to experience feelings other than hate for that to happen. No, puppy love or any other type of love is the last thing that boy is feeling right now." She smiled gently, when she felt his arm come around her shoulders just as they walked into the common room, it was admittedly a bit strange but it felt really good. Leaning into it she closed her tired eyes just as a pang of sorrow bled through her, making her whimper. "Just be careful around him." George's voice said from somewhere above her. Opening her eyes, she saw concern lacing his chocolate brown eyes. Nodding her head gently, a single tear escaped her eyes, which was just as quickly wiped away, but it was too late. George moved to say something but Alexis beat him to it, "I'm fine." She said jerking away from him. Trying not t acknowledge the kicked puppy look he was sporting, she nodded in the direction of the fireplace, "Have you talked to her yet?" Frowning George looked in the direction she nodded at, "No, Not yet, but..." Running a hand across her eyes, she turned towards the common room exit, "Well, now's your chance." She shot over her shoulder before walking out.

Alexis wandered around the castle, her feet leading her to the DADA room's hallway. She was early, so she perched herself on a window sill opposite the room to wait out the remaining forty five minutes studying the night sky.

"_Papa, what's that one up there?" Alexis asked, pointing stubby little fingers at the distance. _

"_That's Orion, my child, the great king." He answered running his hand through her midnight hair. "Now hush baby, Auntie Cass is trying to teach you." She looked up at her mother, her puppy brown eyes as big as saucer's, silently begging to be excused from tonight's lesson. She didn't like them, they were too hard and she didn't like failing, because then she disappointed her dear papa._ _"No my love, you are not going to get off that easy, this is important. Now pay attention to Auntie." Alexis puffed air into her fat cheeks and crossed her chubby arms, a clear sign of defiance, but when her father smiled warmly at her, she relented, closing her eyes and following her Aunt's voice into recesses she couldn't have reached on her own._

_When she was twelve, she finally asked her father what all this was about. The lessons with Aunt Cass never ended, instead getting harder as the years passed. On a particularly starry summer night, she walked u to her papa, fierce determination in her eyes. She was not going to do her lessons tonight, and she was going to tell them exactly that. She wanted to go out flying with Angel. So she was completely lost for words when all they did was laugh after her short tirade and even more so when they said she could go. Later her papa called her out into the patio where he was reading one of his old tomes. "How was your flying my dear?" He asked, setting the book aside and motioning for her to sit on a chair next to him. "It was great" she said tiredly, hiding a yawn behind small hands. "Papa, why do I have to do these lessons with Auntie all the time? Angel never has to do them." Looking up into the sky, he folded his arms across his chest. "Your cousin and you are very special, but in different ways Alexis. You have your lessons and Michael has his. We're not always going to be around, your mother and I." He looked into her eyes then. "These lessons are very important. You're going to need know how to apply them one of these days. When neither your mother, nor I can help you." Alexis looked at her father. "But I don't want you to leave me." She said in a small voice, making her father smile. He motioned for her to come sit on his lap, before leaning back. "You see those stars up there? If I'm not down here with you, I promise I'll always be up there, always watching over you, always protecting you. So you don't have to worry. Just know that I will never willingly leave you. _

Looking up into the cold winter sky, she let the tears fall. "I miss you daddy." She whispered, wrapping her arms around her legs. "You said you'll never leave me, but you're gone and I don't know what to do." Her voice came out low and choked. Closing her eyes tightly she laid her head on her knees and tried as hard as she could not to feel all the sorrow washing into her, most of it not hers. She was concentrating so hard she failed to notice someone watching her intently in the distance.

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"So what do you think Harry's telling Dumbledore?" Ron asked, rolling a galleon across his fingers. Hermione shrugged, the romance novel she was reading shoved into her pocket. "It was that dream of his. I think it has something to do with that Alexis girl." She said, before lapsing into thoughtful silence. "Hey Hermione, I was thinking." Ron started, before Hermione interrupted. "Be careful now, you wouldn't want to hurt yourself." He rolled his eyes. "Hah ha, very funny, anyway, I was thinking I'd take Lavender out this weekend you know, our official first date." Hermione nodded. "So I was wondering if you had any suggestions, I mean Hogsmeade isn't exactly the most romantic place on earth and I want to do something special for her." Smiling at him, she pulled a piece of parchment and quill out of he r robe pocket, earning a quizzical look from Ron. "I'd be more than glad to help. Now, its winter, so obviously a picnic is out, though a stroll in the snow should be romantic, yes. Late lunch at the Hogs head, followed by afternoon coffee and then a stroll back to Hogwarts, yes, yes and flowers perfume..." Ron looked at his friend, panic gripping him for the first time, since he started courting Lavender, watching Hermione talk to herself in low hushed tones and scribble away like a woman possessed begged him to wonder if he shouldn't just have taken her for drinks and shopping. Thanking every deity he knew of when Harry walked out of the headmaster's office and Hermione immediately stopped writing, he pounced on him with questions. "So what did he say? What did you tell him? Is this about that woman?" Harry held up a hand, before motioning them down the hall to a nearby empty classroom. "First off he didn't say much. Actually he just sat there and nodded his head, I think something's up, especially when I mentioned the woman with long black hair, Dumbledore kind of sobered up." Hermione who'd been quiet now for longer than usual sat up. "What dream and what woman?" Looking at her like she'd just crawled out from under a stone, Ron related the dream Harry had told him about earlier that day, realisation and something else dawning in the bookworm's eyes. "Wait, you say her hair was midnight black?" Harry nodded. "I was talking to Alexis this morning, you know welcoming her and all and I have to admit up close, she does look a whole lot like the woman you just described."

"You think there's a connection?" Ron asked.

"I'd swear on Hogwarts a history that there is. I didn't get much from her, except that her parents are dead and get this; she's a descendant of both the Marcel and Kingston bloodline." Seeing the blank look on their faces she continued. "I knew the names sounded familiar so I researched it. The Marcel family is one of the oldest bloodlines in Eastern Europe, known mostly for holding onto old customs and archaic rituals until the late 16th century when one of them decided to go against custom and marry out of the family, thus polluting their blood. Now, they're known for producing some of the most powerful empath's." She paused to take a breath before continuing. "The Kingston family, were originally from Jamaica but later they moved to a small unnamed Caribbean island that is said to be hidden from view, you've heard of the Bermuda triangle right?" Harry nodded, promising to fill Ron in later. "Apparently, they moved because of politics, but there's another story behind that, one that's not documented. Some say the islanders threatened to burn them because they were known witch doctors; they used to exorcise evil spirits call on rain, place curses on rivals and what not, before the great revolt of 1860; that's documented in magical history books, when the muggles chased all wizards out of their communities. Even got to burn a few I hear. Anyway, that aside the Kingston and especially the Marcel's were known for their support of the Dark arts." Ron whistled, while Harry just stared on into the distance quizzically. "So are you saying Alexis is an empath?" Ron asked. "No. At least I don't think so. The book only mentions a few names after every fifty years or so. So I think it skips a generation." Ron nodded. "How did they die?" Harry asked, turning to face his friends. "I'm not sure what exactly happened I mean there is no clear documentation for this. I just know they were found dead, along with her uncle in their house in the Scottish highlands. Some newspaper clippings do however mention sightings of the dark mark floating above the house. Some even go as far as saying the victims had the dark marks on them."

"I knew it." Harry said, rising from the desk he was sitting on triumphantly. "She is a death eater. I mean born and bred right?" They nodded. "Maybe that's why the headmaster was acting so weird, maybe he knows?" Ron suggested. Harry just shrugged, putting his arm around his girlfriend before walking out of the classroom.

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"Alexis are you alright?" a warm voice asked from her side. Looking up she saw her DADA teacher's concerned look. "I'm fine thank you professor." She replied smiling and jumping of the window sill. "If I'd known you would be this eager about detention I might have come earlier." Professor Brown joked as she led the way into the class room. "I have a few first year essays over here that I'd like you to help me mark. " She started, handing Alexis three bundles of parchment. "I have to admit I'm more the teaching than marking type. I can't seem to find the time for these. Not to mention how absolutely atrocious some of these are. You'd think some of these students had never heard of school before they got here. Speaking of, where is Mr Flint?" Looking up to catch the Professor questioning glance, Alexis shrugged. "I haven't really seen him since dinner, professor." Shaking her head she tut tutted, before heading up to her office. "When he gets here, fill him in on what he's supposed to do, plus the other detention he'll be serving for being tardy. Now, good luck!" Alexis laughed lightly after the door closed, taking off her outer robe, before settling in to mark the paper's.

Fifteen minutes later she was closer to crying than anything. Professor Brown hadn't been joking when she said they were atrocious, as a matter of fact, atrocious seemed a tad too mild a label. Down right repugnant would have fit in perfectly with a few other choice adjective's right about now, Alexis thought. As soon as she tossed aside another D paper, the door opened and Marcus sauntered in. Taking more than the standard amount of time it took to walk from the door to the table, he sat down by Alexis, who shot him a withering look. "So glad you could make it. Help yourself." She said sarcastically pointing towards the papers at her right. Grunting unceremoniously, he made a show of taking of his outer robe, revealing a white starched shirt underneath, his tie hanging loosely at his neck, before leaning across Alexis to reach the papers. "What exactly are we supposed to be doing here?" He asked lazily, his eyes roaming around the desk landing on her discarded robe and sweater and then the blood red amulet worn low on a silver chain around her neck. "Well isn't this pretty?" He said scathingly as he reached for it, his hands brushing gently across her neck a complete antithesis of the harsh yank as he pulled it out of her shirt. "Give that back you bastard." Alexis said angrily as she hit his hand painfully. Popping it back in her shirt, he stared at it for a while before tearing his eyes away and smirking at her. "We're supposed to grade these papers and you keep your damn hands off me." She said before moving away from his lounging form.

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Cassandra Dmitrov walked down a long shadowed hallway before coming up to a heavy mahogany door that she dreaded to enter but had to. Knocking once then twice she entered and walked to a corner of the room, where she took refuge in one of the plush armchairs there that belied the hospitality of the establishment. "Cassandra darling, I see that you made it." The syrupy sweet vice of Bellatrix Lestrange floated towards her before she was fully assaulted by the presence of the woman herself. Pasting on a fake smile she looked at the other woman and exchanged pleasantries. "What news have you of the Amethyst moon?" The dark haired woman asked sipping at a cup of tea that appeared on the table between them. "The Romanians know nothing of it, except for one man." Quirking her eyebrows up, Bellatrix signalled for her to continue. "He says it was brought to his village long ago when he was still a young boy. It was kept in the main citadel for all but five years, before they moved it again. So far he's co-operated, however I can't help but feel there is something he's not telling us about. He's downstairs with the rest of the prisoners." Smiling somewhat predatorily at her, Bellatrix congratulated her. "Maybe it was a good idea to send that boy of yours up to Norway. I've never seen you this focused before." Smiling again, she got up and walked away, leaving Cassandra alone in the shadows. "Don't worry. By the time they find what the Dark Lord wants up there, we'd have thought up another plan." A voice said from above her. Looking up she smiled gratefully at the black eyes looking back at her, before accepting the envelope passed to her discreetly from the folds of his robe. "You look tired." He said, taking up Bellatrix's seat. "As 'gracious' as I am to the dark Lord, these accommodations are not exactly conducive to rest and sleep. You have to be constantly on guard here." Nodding his head, he eyed the shadows on her face studiously, nodding his head like he'd finally reached a decision. "I own an old family cottage somewhere in the country that I haven't used for years, and I'm sure I shan't need it anytime soon." Pausing thoughtfully he waited for a reaction, continuing when he had her attention. "It's quite a lovely little place and I'd hate to see it go to waste." He finished. Cassandra smiled as she grasped what he was saying. "I will forever be in your debt Severus Snape." His eyes widened imperceptibly at the wave of gratitude she sent his way.

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"I've always known Gryffindor's are exceptionably stupid people, but this is ridiculous." Marcus said tossing yet another paper onto the rapidly increasing pile of marked papers. Alexis let out an amused snort, which she tried to cover up with a cough. "Those are not exclusively Gryffindor papers and I for one can attest to Slytherin's being just as stupid...as well as Hufflepuff's and Ravenclaw's, who luckily have a few saving graces' here." Glancing up at Marcus who was furiously slashing red lines across paper she smiled a little smile that she refused to acknowledge. "I hate to say it, but for once, I can't argue with you there. Lord Slytherin is probably rolling in his grave." This time she did laugh out loud earning a puzzled look from the Slytherin. "Tell me something." He said. "How did you learn that curse you used on me earlier?" Putting her quill down, she shrugged. "My Aunt taught me when I was ten. It's not that hard really, all you have to do is focus and balance. Frankly I was surprised you couldn't do it." Scowling at her, Marcus said he was just tired, which earned him another shrug. Silence elapsed between the two before she spoke again. "I can teach you if you want." Looking up Marcus scowled, before reconsidering. "The second part as well? I don't recall that being standard for that type of spell." Alexis smiled at him, "That was something I added, but no, I don't think you can do that right now, it takes a lot of..." Throwing down his quill as he finished off the last of his pile, he stood. "Takes a lot of what? Power? Strength? Listen here Gryffindork, anything you can do I can do better. What you did today was just a little fluke." Alexis shook her head in disgust at the condescending tone of his voice. "You may be bigger and stronger that me Marcus, but I can outdo you in any duel. That I promise." Walking up to her he bent down to her face level and said "Show me then."

"No."

Tossing away the last of her papers, she put both their pile's together, before placing them on the Professor's table and walking up to knock on her office door. "We're finished Professor." She said as soon as the door opened. Poking her head out, Professor Brown glanced at her table before nodding. "Good and Mr. Flint. You have detention with me tomorrow after breakfast." She smiled as she closed her door, knowing full well it would be a Hogsmeade weekend.

"Are you going to tell me how you did it or what?" Marcus asked as they walked away from the DADA room. "No actually I'm not. Now stop it your annoying me." She rubbed at her arms, just noticing how cold it actually was. Jumping up in surprise as she felt a robe cover her shoulders, she looked at Marcus questioningly. "I know for a fact that, that spell can only be found in a dark arts book, meaning if you're the goody two shoes Gryffindor that I know you are, it was simply a fluke." Groaning in frustration, she turned around to face him, "Listen, I know that book like the back of my hand and then some and I think its about time you wrapped your over inflated head around the fact that I beat you and I can do it again on a whim, so back the fuck off!" Alexis turned around and walked as fast as her legs would allow her to the Gryffindor tower only realising when it was too late that she'd let her pride take over her and in the same breath fed Marcus ample ammunition against her.

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Deep in the dungeons of the ancient castle, a Slytherin slept, stuck in a dream that wasn't so much so but a memory of a nightmare. Marcus Flint writhed around on his bed, his green linen tangling up in his legs, a fine sheen of sweat on his face and chest.

_His father looked at him, disappointed. It wasn't the first time and it certainly wouldn't be the last. "You have to keep your back straight and your wand parallel to he ground." Mimicking his father's earlier movement's he aimed again and missed, receiving a frustrated groan from his father. "What is wrong with you child? It's a simple dark arts spell, one your cousin's can perform flawlessly." A cold hard hand clamped down painfully on his right shoulder, another on his back, bruising him into position. "I will not have you embarrass me in front of the dark lord. Is that understood boy?" Nodding his head and clenching his jaw to keep from crying out, he aimed again, this time hitting his target._

_XXXX_

_He had been called away from school in the winter of his fourth year by an urgent note from his father. Stepping down from his carriage onto his childhood homes' front steps, he looked up to the dark foreboding mansion before shaking snow from his cloak and walking in. He found his father in the drawing room, sipping on a glass of brandy, glittering golden as it caught the light from the fire. "Father" He said in form of greeting, before proceeding to the floor length window behind his father's chair. "Your mother's dead." Shock flowed through him so raw and real that for a moment he couldn't feel a thing, before overwhelming grief took over his form. "How?" He asked in a small voice, still facing the white pristine wonderland their garden had become. "The burial is tomorrow." The sound of movement behind him made him turn, just in time to see his father's back as he left the room._

_XXXX_

_Nursing his left arm, still smarting from the initiation at his side, he stood over his mothers' grave. Like he has so many times before, the flowers around it in full bloom and the head stone weathered, but the serenity around it the same as it's always been. Closing his eyes gently, he swayed in the light breeze that blew over him, caressing his face. Hearing a noise behind him, his eyes snapped open and his posture changed. "Who's there?" he asked into the darkness. Frowning slightly he turned around in a circle, not recognizing his surroundings, following the voices he heard down the hallway he came to a warmly lit room occupied by six people or so. Hiding carefully in the shadows, Marcus watched them, recognizing some of the faces from the initiation; he frowned again not understanding, when he spotted a familiar face in the corner. "Alexis" He said to himself, not recognizing the man she was sitting with._

_He watched for a while, mainly looking at the girl, he's never seen her smile or laugh like that before and something within him stirred as he realised how beautiful she looked in the fire's glow .Marcus moved to leave just as Alexis ran her hand up and down the man's hand but stopped as soon as he recognized the tattoo burned onto his forearm, the dark mark. _

Waking up abruptly his chest heaving and a fine sheen of sweat on his face, Marcus smiled lightly in the dark.

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A/N: Happy holidays. I hate Christmas.


End file.
